FW: VFW Action Corps Weekly, June 20, 2014

Thank You

Robert Serge

VVA 17 Member

Blog Master

To all my fellow veterans friends and family my we all remember 

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Subject: VFW Action Corps Weekly, June 20, 2014

Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 15:01:47 -0400

VFW Action Corps Weekly June 20, 2014 In this Issue: 1. VA Access Bill Headed to Conference 2. House VA Committee Discusses Fee Based Care 3. VFW Supported Legislation Introduced in the Senate 4. VA Calls for Monthly Review of Facilities 5. Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry Open 6. Retired USMC Cpl. Receives Medal of Honor 7. DOD Identifies 19 Missing Services Members 1. VA Access Bill Headed to Conference: On Thursday, House and Senate lawmakers voted to send legislation aimed at fixing VA care and access issues to a conference committee. Discussions had started on the bills differences, but House Committee Chairman, Jeff Miller (R-FL) said that the complicated and highly technical nature of the issues required a formal conference to "smooth out the differences" between the two chambers. Senate VA Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) agreed that members need an opportunity to discuss differences and get this right for veterans and their families. Earlier this week, the VFW, along with 19 of our VSO community partners, sent a letter to House and Senate VA leaders outlining our views on the conferenced bill. http://www.vfw.org/uploadedFiles/VFW.org/VFW_in_DC/Joint%20VSO%20Letter%20on%20VA%20Access%20Legislation%20Conference%20-%20June%2017,%202014%20-%20UPDATED%20FINAL.pdf Action Needed: If your legislator is one of the conferees listed below, we urge you to call them and tell them the VFW is demanding that conferees reach an agreement which will provide the necessary resources to resolve the scheduling and access issues and ensure that VA will be the guarantor of care when care is provided outside VA. If your Senator or Representative is not on the committee, stay informed. Congress will vote on the final bill, and we need you to ensure they vote correctly. To locate your legislators DC and District contact information click here: http://capwiz.com/vfw/dbq/officials/ House Conferees include: VA Chairman Jeff Miller of Florida, Ranking Member, Mike Michaud of Maine, Phil Roe of Tennessee, Bill Flores of Texas, Dan Benishek of Michigan, Mike Coffman of Colorado, Brad Wenstrup of Ohio, Jackie Walorski of Indiana, Corrine Brown of Florida, Julia Brownley of California, Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona, and Tim Walz of Minnesota. Senate Conferees include: VA Chairman Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Ranking Member, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Patty Murray of Washington, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jon Tester of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie K. Hirono of Hawaii, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, John McCain of Arizona, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, and Marco Rubio of Florida. 2. House VA Committee Discusses Fee Based Care: On Wednesday, The House VA Committee heard testimony from witnesses whose companies provide care to veterans outside the VA healthcare system. Representatives from TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Health Net Federal Services and Cary Medical Center in Maine all commented that they provide a diverse set of services to augment care received within VA - when and where VA may not be able to provide that service to veterans. David McIntyre, President and CEO of TriWest spoke about their contract with VA to provide a network of coordinated care through VA's new Patient Centered Community Care (PC3) program. The VFW submitted testimony for the record and relayed our support for the PC3 program, stating that the contract requirements of the program mark a significant improvement over the old fee basis system, which lacked coordination and quality controls. We also urged Congress to address current health care issues within VA by using all available tools to provide timely access to care to include non-VA care when necessary. To read our testimony, http://www.vfw.org/VFW-in-DC/Congressional-Testimony/Non-VA-Care--An-Integrated-Solution-for-Veteran-Access/ For all information pertaining to the hearing, click here: http://veterans.house.gov/hearing/non-va-care-an-integrated-solution-for-veteran-access 3. VFW Supported Legislation Introduced in the Senate: Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) recently introduced a bill that would allow traumatic events that do not immediately cause injuries to be entered into service members' medical records. All too often, veterans are unable to prove that they were exposed to events like IED blasts and witnessing combat losses when later seeking care and benefits from DOD and VA. Senator Brown's bill, S. 2368, the Fairman Significant Event Tracker (SET) Act of 2014, would solve that problem by establishing a way for small unit leaders to submit reports on traumatic events experienced by individuals under their commands at the conclusion of each mission. The idea for the SET was originally proposed by VFW member Mike Fairman, a Navy Corpsman and Afghanistan veteran from Ohio, and the VFW worked closely with Senator Brown on the final language of the bill. To read more about the bill from Senator Brown, click here: http://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/in-struthers-sen-brown-announces-plan-that-would-make-it-easier-for-veterans-with-war-related-injuries-to-claim-benefits 4. VA Calls for Monthly Review of Facilities: This week, Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson announced that he has directed all VA Medical Center and Health Care System Directors to conduct monthly in-person interviews of scheduling practices in every clinic within their jurisdictions. Site inspections will include observing daily processes and interacting with scheduling staff to ensure all policies are being followed to deliver timely access to care to all veterans. In addition to the monthly reviews of over 900 VA facilities, Veterans Integrated Service Network Directors (VISNs) will also be conducting similar site visits to at least one medical center within their area every 30 days with the goal of completing visits to all medical centers in their network every 90 days. 5. Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry Open: The Department of Veterans Affairs announced the launch of its airborne hazards and burn pit registry. All veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti, and the Gulf War are encouraged to participate, and you need not be enrolled in VA's health care system to do so. The registry is intended to be an epidemiological research tool with examinations helping to enhance VA's understanding of any identified long-term adverse health effects of exposure to burn pits and other airborne hazards during deployment ---ultimately leading to better health care. Veterans should sign-up now for a Department of Defense Self-Service Logon (DS-Logon) in preparation for the launch of the registry. More information about the registry and the DS-Logon can be found at: https://veteran.mobilehealth.va.gov/AHBurnPitRegistry/#page/home 6. Retired USMC Cpl. Receives Medal of Honor: The president awarded the nation's highest military medal on Thursday to retired Marine Corps Cpl. William "Kyle" Carpenter for his actions while deployed in Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2010. He became the third Marine and the 15th overall recipient of the medal for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. On Nov. 21, 2010, Taliban insurgents initiated an attack on Carpenter's squad, part of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. Carpenter, the squad automatic rifleman for his fire team, and Lance Cpl. Nicholas Eufrazio, were holding a rooftop security position when a hand grenade was thrown their way. Without hesitation, Carpenter reacted, rushing toward the grenade in an attempt to shield his brother-in-arms from the blast. Carpenter and Eufrazio survived the attack but not without sustaining severe injuries. After two and a half years recuperating at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Carpenter was medically retired from the Marine Corps on July 30, 2013, and is now a full-time student at the University of South Carolina. Read more at http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=122515&source=GovDelivery. 7. DOD Identifies 19 Missing Service Members: The Defense POW/MIA Office has announced the identification of remains belonging to two Korean War soldiers and 17 service members who were aboard a C-124 aircraft that crashed in Alaska. Recovered are: * Army Cpl. Lucio R. Aguilar, 19, of Brownsville, Texas, was buried last Friday in Corpus Christi. On the night of Nov. 27, 1950, elements of the 25th Infantry Division and 35th Infantry Regiment established a defensive position at Yongsan-dong in North Korea. On Nov. 28, Augilar was reported missing in action after his unit was forced into a fighting withdrawal. * Army Sgt. Paul M. Gordon, 20, of Dry Ridge, Ky., is being buried today in Williamstown, Ky. On Jan. 7, 1951, Gordon was assigned to Company H, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, deployed in the vicinity of Wonju, South Korea, and would be listed as missing in action following a battle against Chinese forces. In September 1953, returning U.S. service members reported that Gordon had been captured but died in a POW camp in June 1951. * On Nov. 22, 1952, a C-124 Globemaster crashed while en route to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, from McChord AFB, Washington, with 11 crewmen and 41 passengers on board. Adverse weather conditions precluded immediate recovery attempts, and ensuing search parties were unable to locate or recover any of the service members. It took until June 2012 when wreckage that appeared to be from an aircraft would be spotted. The 17 identified so far are: Army Lt. Col. Lawrence S. Singleton, and Pvts. James Green, Jr., and Leonard A. Kittle; Marine Corps Maj. Earl J. Stearns; Navy Cmdr. Albert J. Seeboth; Air Force Cols. Noel E. Hoblit and Eugene Smith, Capt. Robert W. Turnbull, 1st Lts. Donald Sheda and William L. Turner, Tech. Sgt. Engolf W. Hagen, Staff Sgt. James H. Ray, Airman 1st Class Marion E. Hooton, Airmen 2nd Class Carroll R. Dyer, Thomas S. Lyons and Thomas C. Thigpen, and Airman 3rd Class Howard E. Martin. Read more at: http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=16781&source=GovDelivery To sign up new veterans' advocates, click here: http://capwiz.com/vfw/mlm/signup.htm As always, we want to share your advocacy stories on the VFW Capitol Hill blog. To share your stories either fill out our online form by clicking here, http://www.vfw.org/Forms/Capitol-Hill-Blog-Submissions/, or simply email photos and stories directly to vfwac@vfw.org.

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